Projects
Horizons at Greens Farms Academy
Westport & Bridgeport, CT
Horizons at Greens Farms Academy helps students attending under-resourced Bridgeport schools develop strong academic, social and emotional skills, habits of mind, and the resilience to succeed in school and pursue a meaningful, choice-filled life. Michelle created a model, strategic plan and curriculum to enhance family engagement, including professional development training for training for educators, workshops for families and students, and materials to assess program implementation and impact.
Westport Weston Cooperative Nursery School
Westport, Connecticut
Westport Weston Coop is Connecticut-based preschool. In addition to facilitating psycho-educational workshops for parents, Michelle has also provided professional development training for educators and assisted with program evaluation.
KEYS
Bridgeport, CT
KEYS’ mission is to provide free music lessons and performance opportunities to under-resourced students of Bridgeport. Michelle worked with KEYS staff to explore how best to enhance family engagement in children’s musical education and the role of families in KEYS programming - including conducting a needs assessment with staff and families, and developing a strategic plan and corresponding program playbook.
ROAR Shelter
Ridgefield, CT
ROAR was founded on the simple principle that we would provide animals in need with the same love, care and compassion we show our own family pets. Michelle and her dog Nellie (who Michelle adopted from ROAR) participated in ROAR’s Therapy Dogs program and visited local schools, libraries, and community centers.
The Unquowa School
Fairfield, CT
Unquowa is a private school for students in pre-Kindergarten through eighth-grade. Michelle served as the consulting psychologist for the school and also developed and implemented “Middle ground for middle-schoolers,” an interactive series to enhance children’s core social-emotional competencies including self- and social-awareness, ability to identify and express emotions, empathy, communication and relationship skills, and problem-solving/decision-making.
Harvard Family Research Project
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Michelle provided technical assistance and professional development training for directors and evaluators of nation-wide, federally funded Parent Information and Resource Centers.
Tackling the Tough Stuff
Weston Youth Services, Weston, CT
Michelle served as the Director of Youth Services for over three years and during her tenure, designed and facilitated a workshop series to address common and complex topics including managing and minimizing stress, juggling multiple siblings and schedules, dealing with tragedy and trauma, and monitoring media use.
Community Nursery School
Westport, Connecticut
Community Nursery School is Connecticut-based preschool. Michelle facilitated a monthly parenting group and offers consultation for children and their families on a range of social, behavioral, and educational issues.
innovativeKids
Norwalk, Connecticut
Innovative Kids is a Connecticut-based children’s toy company. Michelle authored a weekly blog on parenting, education, and the value of play, as well as assisted with product development and review including evaluating the developmental appropriateness of toys and how products align with national learning standards.
Can I Read To You?
Ten Mayflower Productions and NBC Universal, New York
Can I Read To You is a children’s video series that aims to foster language and literacy development. Michelle assisted with product development and dissemination including background research, creation of web content and corresponding materials for children, families, and educators, as well as media appearances to promote the video series.
The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence
Yale University, New Haven, CT
The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence is dedicated to improving schools and enriching the lives of educators, students, and families through evidence-based social and emotional learning programs. Michelle was a consultant to the Center and worked primarily on RULER for families, developing content and curriculum to enhance parents’ own emotional intelligence as well as their ability to promote children’s social, emotional, and educational success.
The School of the 21st Century, Zigler Center for Child Development and Social Policy
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Michelle helped conduct the statewide evaluation of Connecticut Family Resource Centers, co-authored the The Mutt-i-gree’s Curriculum™ – a curriculum to promote social skills among preschool and elementary children, and a resource guide to promote the language development and literacy of middle school children.
The Consultation Center
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Michelle worked with Bridgeport Public Schools (Department of Early Education) in implementing an Early Reading First grant, analyzing student performance and outcome data, and developing corresponding intervention services to promote children’s literacy and language development.